Check that email before you lay it on the line

A recent case highlighted how firms and employees need to be aware of data laws, says Diarmaid Condon

IN THE light of the ICS Building Society offensive email circulation case at the Employment Appeals Tribunal, where the appeal of two employees against their dismissal was upheld in the ruling, it’s interesting to consider where employees and employers stand legally in relation to the use and misuse of the internet and messaging systems in the workplace.

There are a number of infamous cases of employees blindly circulating inappropriate or downright offensive emails within and outside, the work environment. The most well documented in Ireland is probably the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) ‘Top 10’ email scandal, where PwC employees were internally investigated following the circulation of an email listing the ‘Top 10’ female employees in one of its Dublin offices. Male employees ranked new female staff members via email, adding comments to the email as it went.